Coiling machine



R. L. STEVENS COILING MACHINE Oct. 31, 1950 Filed Nov. 30, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Robe/ t L. 5 Zen/e175 B ATTORNEYJ Oct. 31, 1950 R. L. STEVENS 2,527,662

COILING MACHINE Filed Nov. 30, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l2 INVENTOR Robert L. Steve/15 ATTORNEYS Oct. 31, 1950 R. L. STEVENS 2,527,662

COILING MACHINE Filed Nov. 30, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Robert L. 5621 67:

ATTO R N EYS Patented Oct. 31, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" COILING MACHINE Robert L. Stevens, Buffalo, N. Y;

Application November 30,1948, Serial No. 62,743

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for coiling strand material, and more particularly to an improved apparatus for winding thread, cord, wire, or other stranded materials of the lastic or textile or metallic arts; whereby the material is formed into coils of the prescribed dimensions which are progressively discharged from the machine.

One of the objects of the invention is to pro- 'vide a machine of the character aforesaid, which is of structurally compact and mechanically rugged form, and adapted to rapidly coil strand material in improved manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine for the purpose aforesaid which is of improved smoothness in operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the specification hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a r:

4 coil cordage or similar stranded material, such as plastic fishing line cords or the like; although it is to be understood that the inventionis also applicable to the coiling of metal wire or other stranded fabrications.

In the drawing, the stock material to be processed into measured coils by, the machine of the invention is shown at I!) as being previously wound upon a reel l2 such as inthe forrn the material might be furnished by the manufacturer thereof. To receive the reel l2, my

' machine includes an annular back plate [4 which is shouldered as indicated at I6 so as to provide both a supporting back wall for the rear flange of the reel and a ledge for the bottom wall of the reel, whereby the reel is automatically centered relative to the back plate when slipfitted thereon. To detachably lock the reel on the back plate the latter is boredas indicated at [8 at intervals therearound to receive corresponding headed pins 20 which are furnished to extend integrally from the reel; and the back dicated by the arrows in Fig. 4.

2 plate I4 carries pivotable latches 22 (Fig. 3) hav ing open jaw portions 24 which are adapted to engage the necks of the'pins 20 for locking the reel upon the back plate. The back plate I4 is carried by a central roller bearing 26 upon a hub 28 which is supported to extend in cantilever mounted relation from a pedestal 38 on the base plate 32 of the machine. The hub 23 is keyed to the pedestal 30 as indicated at 33, and thus the reel I2 is mounted upon the hub 28 so as to be freely rotatable thereon relative to the machine.

,The strand coiling mechanism of the machine comprises a central shaft 34 which extends through the hub 28 and is rotatably mounted therein as by means of needle bearings 3636. Adjacent oneof its ends the shaft 34 mounts a pair of plates 3839 which are arranged in' parallel and longitudinally spaced relation on the shaft 34. A sheet metal cover 4!] embraces the side and top edges of the plates 3940 and is fixed thereto as by means of screws 42 so as to keep debris out of the gear enclosure. Spacer bolts 43 (Figs. 2 and 4) maintain the plates 3839 in spaced relation, and between the plates 3839 the shaft 34 mounts a pair of equal diameter spur gears 4446 in parallel relation. The upper portions of the plates 3839 are bored to journal therebetween three stub shafts 4l- 48--49 which carry corresponding gears 5ll5l52 the stub shafts being-mounted upon the plates so that the gears 50 and 52 mesh with the spur gear 46, while the gear 5| meshes with the spur gear 44.. Similarly, the lower portions of the plates 3839 are bored to journal therebetween three stub shafts 545556, and these stub shafts carry corresponding gears 51, 58, 59; the

gears being arranged on the shafts so that the gears 5'|59 mesh with the spur gear 44 and the gear 58 meshes with the spur gear 46. This arrangement permitsthe shafts 41, 48, 49 to be arranged more closely together than would be the case if similar diameter gears were employed and if all of the gears were arranged to mesh with only one spur gear.

The gear case defined by the plates 3839 and the cover 4!] is keyed to the stationary hub 28 as by means of a screw 59 (Fig, 1) and thus it will be seen that upon rotation of the shaft 34 the stub shafts 41, 48. 49, 54, 55, 56 will all 'be driven to rotate in the same direction, as in- Externally of the plate 38 the stub shafts mount augers 60 to rotate therewith; the thread shape of the augers being adapted to accommodate the prescribed volume of coiled strands, as indicated at 62-64 (Fig. 1). As indicated at 66 (Fig. l) the inner end portions of the augers are adapted to receive the stranded material I and to permit the latter to be wound therearound as in the manner indicated at 68 in Fig. 2. Subsequent to winding of the prescribed quantity of strand material in coil form about the auger end portions 60 the augers are rotated by means of the gearing referred to hereinabove so that the coiled strand will be displaced longitudinally of the angers progressively from the position indicated at 60 to the positions indicated at 62-64 to be finally discharged from the auger mechanism so as to fall away from the end thereof as indicated at I0 in Fig. 1. By providing the augers 60 to be of such length as indicated in Fig. 1, the coils formed thereon will be maintained upon theaugers for sufficient time to permit the machine attendant to manually affixa tie upon each coil as indicated at I2 (Fig.1) before the coil drops off the machine.

To wind the strand material about the inner end portions 60 of the augers, I provide a winding arm I4 having an eye 15 through. which threads the stranded material I0. The arm I4 pivotally mounts upon the outer endof a bell arm 16,. and is positionally biased thereon by means of a pin and spring arrangement 18 which operates to maintain the arm I4 to extend radially of the reel I2 as shown in solid lines in Fig. 2. However, in order topermit an emptied reel to. be replaced by a fully loaded reel the arm 14' may be simply pulled. outwardly andthen rotated 90 or more upon the pin I8 as to the broken line position thereof in Fig. 2;.so that the arm will not interfere with the reel replacement operations. Then, the arm may be. simply, swung back into operative position as shown in Figs. 1. and 2,.

whereupon. the spring 79. acts to maintain the arm in its operative position.

The bell arm I6 is rigidly mounted upon a pulley 80, as by means of screws 82; and. the pulley 80 is rotatably mounted by means of a ballbearing 84 upon a second. hub piece. 86 which .rides freely upon the first-mentioned hub 28 as by means. of anti-friction bearings 81 therebetween. The pulley 80 is driven to rotate continuously as long as themachine is operating. by means of a drive belt 88; which it willbe understood may engage any suitable electric motor drive pulley or the like (not shown). The arm I4 mounts a pulley 90 over which runs. the feeding strand I0, and the arm I6 also mounts an aligned pulley 92 so as to guide the strand I0 to feed away from a metering pulley 94 which is fixed to the hub 86, by screws 95. The metering pulley 94 in turn receives the strand from another pulley 96 carried by the arm I6. at a positionover-riding the reel I2.

the strand material frOm the reel and feeds it over the metering pulley 94 onto the transfer pulleys 9290 from. whence it is delivered to the feed eye I5 and wrapped thereby around the augers 60. A spring-pressed brake shoe 91 is carried by the stationary plate 39 to frictionally bear against the reel plate I4 so as to snub relative rotation therebetween; the pressure of the brake shoe being regulated by adjustment of a Screw 98 (Fig 1).

This feeding of the material around the metering pulley 94 causes the latter to be dragged upon to rotate the hub 86. As indicated at 99 in Fi l a portion of the hub is threaded in the form of a worm, and a gear I00 is mounted by means of a shaft IOI upon a bracket I02 extending from the pedestal portion 30. The shaft IOI carries a cam I04 for engagement with the movable member I06 of a contact switch. A conductor I08 is connectedzto the movable member of the switch and another conductor I09 connects to the stationary contact of the switch, thereby providing an electric circuit whenever the switch member IE0 is biased by the cam I04 into closed position. Power supply conductors connect into the circuit as, indicated at NO, and the circuit. is completed inthe windings of a solenoid or electromagnet as indicated at. I I 2.. Thus, whenever the metering pulley 94 has revolved a prescribed number 01 turns, the cam I04 will close the electric control circuit to energize the magnet I I2.

A rocker arm H4 is pivotally mounted at II5 upon the pedestal 30 within range of. the magnet II2 so that upon energization of the latter the lower end of the rocker is drawn toward the magnet. A. tension spring II6. biases the rocker in opposite direction. Theupper end of the rocker carries a roller II8' which is adapted to engage one endof a ratchet pawl I20 which is pivotally mounted at I22 upon a face plate I24 having its hub keyed to the. shaft 34 as indicated at I26. A compression spring I28. (Fig. 5) is mounted upon the face plate I24 so as to bias the ratchet lever I20 in such manner that its opposite extending finger portion I30 moves into ngagement with a ratchet wheel I32 carried by a stub shaft I34. The shaft I 34 is journaled within the face plate I24 as by bearings I35 and upon a pedestal I30 extending from the base plate 32, and the shaft I34 mounts a driving pulley I38 (Fig. 1) which is arranged to be driven b a belt I40 running to any suitable driving motor pulley (not shown). Thus, although the pulley I38 is driven to rotate continuously, it is only upon closing of the control switch I06 (at the end of a prescribed strand metering operation) that the ratchet pawl mechanism I.20I32 operates to cause the power from the pulley I38 to. be transmitted into the shaft 34. Then, at that time the gear mechanism is driven to rotate the augers 60 through one complete revolution thereof, thereby laterally displacing the previously formed coil of strand material from the screw portion 00 into the position indicated at 62', while at the same time shifting the coil previously dispcsed at 62 into the position indicated at 64, while discharging the coil previously occupying the position 84. Thus, the quantity of material comprising each coil produced by the machine may be readily regulated by appropriate selection of the diameter of the metering pulley 94.

Thus, there is provided a machine adapted to receive stranded material in its customarily finished form; said machine comprising a strand unwrapping arm arranged to revolve about the reel to lift the strand therefrom and to pass it over a metering reel, thence back through the lifting arm mechanism for delivery through a feeding eye which revolves around a plurality of circularly disposed augers. The augers are in the form of screws, and themetering reel op crates to cause periodic actuation of the auger -rotation means so as to automatically displace each coil product of the machine'when it is completed, through successive holding positions so as to enable the machine attendant to place suitable ties upon the coils before they are discharged from the machine; The coils may then be separated into groups of any desired number of coils by snipping the appropriate strand portion between coils.

It will be appreciated that it is a particular feature and advantage of the machine of the invention that the above recited strand unwinding and recoiling operation is performed throughout all phases thereof with maximum smoothness in the strand handling operations, without imposing jerks upon the strand despite the intermittent nature of the coil delivery operation at the discharge end of the machine. Also, it will be appreciated that although one specific form of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited but that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a coil forming machine, a plurality of spaced strand guide angers, a reel having strand material Wound thereon, a metering pulley, means revolving relative to said reel including a strand pick-up member arranged to lift the strand from said reel and to wind it upon said metering pulley, and strand delivery means arranged to feed said strand from said metering pulley and to revolve around said angers at the base portions thereof to lay said strand therearound in coiled condition, said angers being externally threaded for displacing the coiled strand axially of said angers upon rotation thereof, means for rotating said angers, and means controlling the rotation of said angers comprising a mechanism actuated periodically by said metering pulley upon passage of a predetermined quantity of strand thereover to cause said angers to rotate to segregate said strand progressively into separate coils of predetermined quantities of strand.

2. In a progressive coil forming machine, a plurality of spaced strand guide angers, a reel having strand material wound thereon, a metering pulley, means revolving relative to said reel and said pulley including a strand pick-upmember arranged to feed the strand from said reel around said metering pulley, and to revolve around said angers at the base portions thereof to lay said strand therearound in coiled condition, said angers being externally threaded for displacing the coiled strand axially of said angers upon rotation thereof, and means controlling the rotation of said angers comprising a mechanism actuated periodically by said metering pulley upon passage of a predetermined quantity of strand thereover to cause said angers to rotate to segregate said strand progressively into separate coils of predetermined quantities of strand.

3. In a coil forming machine, an anger, a reel having strand material wound thereon, a metering pulley, means revolving relative to said reel and pulley including a strand pick-up member arranged to feed the strand from said reel on to said metering pulley and to revolve around said anger at the base portion thereof to lay said strand therearound in coiled condition, said auger being externally threaded for displacing the 6 coiled strand axially of saidauger upon roman thereof, and means controlling the rotation ofsaid auger comprising a mechanism actuated periodically by said metering Pu y upon Passage of a"predeter mined quantity of strand thereover to cause said auger to rotate tosegregate said stran'dprogressively' into separatecoils of-"predetermined quantities of strand.

- 4. In a coil forming machine, a plurality of spaced strandguide angers, a reel having strand material wound thereon, a metering device, means revolving relative to said reel including a strand pick-up member arranged to feed the strand from "said reel on to said metering device, means ar ranged to pick up said strand from said metering device and to'revolve around said angers at the'base portions thereof to lay said strand therearound in coiled condition, said angers being externally threaded for'displacing the coiled strand axially of said angers upon rotation thereof, means for rotating said angers, means controlling the rotation of said angers comprising a mechanism actuated periodically by said metering device upon passage of a predetermined quantity of strand thereover to cause said angers to rotate to segregate said strand progressively into separate coils of predetermined quantities of strand.

5. In a coil forming machine, strand receiving auger means, a reel having strand material wound thereon, a metering pulley, means revolving relative to said reel including a strand pick-up member arranged to lift the strand from said reel and to wind it upon said metering pulley, and strand delivery means arranged to feed said strand from said metering pulley and to revolve around said auger means at the base portion thereof to lay said strand therearound in coiled condition, said auger means being externally threaded for displacing the coiled strand axially upon rotation thereof, means for rotating said auger means, and means controlling the rotation of said auger means comprising a mechanism actuated periodically by said metering pulley upon passage of a predetermined quantity of strand thereover to cause said auger means to rotate to segregate said strand progressively into separate coils 01' predetermined quantities of strand.

6. In a progressive coil forming machine, strand receiving auger means, a strand material supply device, a metering pulley, means revolving relative to said supply device and said pulley including a strand pick-up member arranged to feed the strand from said pulley device around said metering pulley and to revolve around said auger means at the base portion thereof to lay said strand therearound in coiled condition, said auger means being externally threaded for displacing the coiled strand axially of said auger means upon rotation thereof, and means controlling the rotation of said auger means comprising a mechanism actuated periodically by said metering pulley upon passage of a predetermined quantity of strand thereover to cause said auger means to rotate to segregate said strand progressively into separate coils of predetermined quantities of strand.

'7. In a coil forming machine, a form, strand material supply means, a metering device, means revolving relative to said supply means and metering device including a strand pick-up member arranged to feed the strand from said supply means to said metering device and then to said form at the base portion thereof to lay said strand therearound in coiled condition, said form being arranged for displacing the coiled strand axiallyof said form. upon motivation; thereof, and means controlling, the motivation of said. form comprising a mechanism actuated periodically by said. metering device upon passage of a predetermined quantity of: strand thereby tov cause said form to move to segregate said strand progressively into separate coils of predetermined quantities of strand.

,8. In a coilforming machine, a coil receiving frame, a reel having strand material wound thereon, ametering' device, means revolving relative to said reel including a strand pick-up-member arranged to feed the strand from said reel onito said metering device, means arranged to pick-up said strand from said metering device and-torevolve around, said frame to lay said strand therearoundin coiled condition, said frame having means for displacing the coiled strand axially of said frame, and meanscontrolling the 8 displacement. of said strand from said, frame comprisinga mechanism actuated periodically by said, metering, device upon passage of a predetermined quantity of strand thereover.

ROBERT L. STEVENS.

REFERENCES CITED The; following references are of record in the file. ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,816,420 Casella July 28, 1931 2,445,109 Ferguson July 13, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 101,457 Germany Feb. 6, 1899 

